If I make a DB using Tapforms, will anyone with a PC DB (like NeoOffice, etc) be able to open it, read it, and sort it? How about any other Mac DB, like Filemaker, etc? I read a few comments about CVS format, etc, but have NFI what that means. Thanks in advance. john
Hi John,
The native database format of Tap Forms can’t really be read or understood by any other applications.
However, CSV (comma separated values) files are a standard way of exchanging information with other database systems.
Here’s an example of what a CSV file looks like:
Movie Title,Release Year, Genre
The Terminator,1998,Action & Adventure
The Hunger Games,2010,Action & Adventure
and so on.
The first row contains the field names and the other rows are the data which go into those fields when imported into Tap Forms or any other database which supports reading CSV files. Most do.
Hopefully that helps you to understand what a CSV file is
Thanks very much. That explains it. I assume that, once imported as a CSV file, the other DB will be able to manipulate the data as if it were entered into that DB originally, as opposed to just being listed as if typed in a work processor. ???
That really depends on the other applications, but yes I would assume you can edit it just as if you typed it in yourself. That’s the way Tap Forms works when importing CSV files. Once the app imports the data from the CSV file, Tap Forms has no way to know that you didn’t type the data in yourself and treats it the same as if you had.
Thanks. Before I offer my DB to anyone, I guess I better see who/what can open and massage it. At least it seems likely that many folks will be able to use it. Cheers. john
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